Whisky, and why I drink it

It's the most diverse, unusual, variable, interesting, delicious beverage on the planet. One could drink two drams a day for the next 50 years and never discover all there is to taste, smell and savour.

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Lochside 1964 46 yo Single BarrelRare Old, The Whisky ExchangeSingle blend - East HighlandsCopper42.1% ABVDramNose: Vanilla, bubblegum, roses, oranges, pomeloes.Mouthfeel:Light body, watery, slippery, airy.Tasting: Sweet. Vanilla, bubblegum, roses, vanilla, pomeloes, hints of black tea.Finish: Medium. Pomeloes, roses, bubblegum, black tea.
Comments:
This is a combination of grain whisky and malt whisky, aged together in the same cask. A very unusual style. The grain is very apparent, but the citrusy fresh notes of the malt come through sure enough. There's a slightly astringent bite on the end. Not hugely complex despite the long aging, I think the grain masks many notes.
Verdict:I like this.

Friday, 18 July 2014

Benromach OrganicOfficial bottling Single malt - SpeysideAmber red46% ABVDramNose: Chocolate, red grapes, peanuts, orange peel, melon, hints of banana. With water, malted grains, more melon, blackberries.Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, airy.Tasting: Sweet. Custard, vanilla, chocolate, peanuts, melon, red grapes, hints of orange peel. With water, melon, orange juice, blackberries.Finish: Medium. Red grapes, melon, peanuts, orange peel. With water, more peanuts.
Comments:
Sweet and rich, although light enough to drink in summer. I normally wouldn't add water to a whisky of this strength, as I like mine a little stronger. But I was glad I did, as it opened up with nice fruity, berry notes and heaps of the peanutty notes that I associate with Benromach.
Verdict:I like this.

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Rare Ayrshire 36 yo 1975/2012 Cask #3419Cask Strength, Signatory Single malt - LowlandsGolden 46% ABVDramNose: Raisins, malted grains, orange zest, leather, coconut oil, rhubarb and custard sweets, hints of bubblegum.Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, turns slippery in the mouth.Tasting: Sweet sour. Orange zest, raisins, rhubarb and custard sweets, lychees, coconut oil, hints of bubblegum.Finish: Long. Leather, orange zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, coconut oil, bubblegum.
Comments:This is Ladyburn! Light and playful, despite its age. There are heaps of tangy, sweet sour notes, very Rosebank-y, except that there's little or no lemon. Lots of other fragrances, something very like coconut oil, and something much lighter and sweeter, like the bubblegum I used to chew when I was a kid. Very nice. Why is it that the great whiskies come from closed distilleries?
Verdict:I like this a lot.

Burks distillery is where the iconic Maker's Mark bourbon is made. Alternate expressions are hard to find. Legend has it that the recipe of Maker's Mark, the mash bill, was not developed by actually malting and distilling the whiskey, but instead by baking a loaf of bread using the mash bill's proportions and sampling the results. Maker's Mark contains red winter wheat, corn and barley.

It is an atypical bourbon, although there are a lot of sweet, estery notes in the whiskey. There is less of that musty, papery tang, and more interesting flavours abound. Fruit, chocolate and honey abound, and I detect a lot of bananas and strawberries (although bourbon always tastes somewhat of banana anyway). There aren't a whole lot of expressions here - only three, and two might be expected to be fairly similar - so the variation is small. Nevertheless, it is deliciously sweet and fragrant, and quite satisfying. The widely available red wax expression is probably meant to be a cocktail ingredient, but stands up fairly well on its own.

Burks Distillery was founded in 1805 by, yes, you guessed it - Charles Burks. Charles died a couple of decades later, but the distillery continued to operate under the guidance of his family. George R Burks, a descendant of Charles, rebuilt and expanded the distillery in 1878.

Like the vast majority of American distilleries under Prohibition, this distillery was silent from 1920. The Burks family sold the distillery and the surrounding land to an Ernest Bickett in 1920. It is not known (at least not by me) when the distillery became active again, but T. William Samuels Jr (otherwise known as Bill) bought the distillery in 1954.

Bill created (or had access to the recipe for) Maker's Mark, and sold the first bottle in 1958. Sales have gone from strength to strength since.

Potted distillery facts

Water source: Water from Bourbon Lake, on the distillery propertyWashbacks: Four, cypress, unknown capacityWash stills: OneSpirit stills: OneSpirit still Lyne arm: nothing unusualProduction per year: up to 12,000,000 litres a year

Thursday, 10 July 2014

Glencadam 15 yo (OB pre 2008)Official bottlingSingle malt - East HighlandsReddish amber40% ABVDramNose: Leather, honey, smoked ham, dried cherries, hints of rope.Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, slippery, turns watery.Tasting: Sour salty. Oranges, dried cherries, lychees, leather, smoked ham, apricots.Finish: Medium. Dried cherries, lychees, leather, hints of tobacco.
Comments:
A fine fruity, complex dram. I believe this has now been discontinued and the distillery 15 yo expression is now bottled at 46%. It may be better, and now goes on the list of malts to try. I was slightly disappointed at the price, I may have paid twice what it was worth.
Verdict:I like this.